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Downton Abbey star Elizabeth Mcgovern has become a big fan of the holidays thanks to her father-in-law's Christmas Day birthday. The American actress now enjoys an all-British yuletide after marrying Simon Curtis, and she can no longer think of a better place to spend the holidays than with her in-laws.
McGovern, who appears on the new Downton Abbey Christmas album, says, "Christmas is a bit pathetic in Los Angeles; I'd much prefer to be in England. Christmas is such a big deal for English people. People start planning in October. It's much more of a big deal in England.
"I'm still late getting into the Christmas spirit - I don't usually get into it until Christmas Eve, which was perfect this year as I was on tour with my band in the States until December 16th.
"I have so many happy Christmas memories as a mum in England - my father-in-law was born on Christmas Day and so it's a big deal for the family. My mother-in-law does all the work and she's a good cook, so we all go round there. It's a total luxury for me.
"My father-in-law used to dress up as an elf and come out into the garden. The look on my kids' faces was priceless."

The widow of tragic Joy Division singer Ian Curtis has revealed she felt humiliated when she first learned that his song Love Will Tear Us Apart was written about her. In the introduction to new book So This Is Permanence: Ian Curtis, Joy Division Lyrics and Notebooks, Deborah Curtis admits she was anything but flattered when she discovered she had inspired the classic song.
She writes, "How did I feel when (Joy Division manager) Rob Gretton told me Love Will Tear Us Apart was about me? Angry, humiliated. I scoured his manuscripts looking for evidence that it wasn't so. The burden of finding a way to displace what was happening in his life must have twisted him to the core."
In the book extract, reprinted exclusively in this week's NME magazine, Deborah Curtis also opens up about how her life with her husband changed after he was diagnosed with epilepsy, explaining, "He became resentful at home as if broaching the subject of his illness aloud made it more real."
So This Is Permanence: Ian Curtis, Joy Division Lyrics and Notebooks, which has also been co-edited by Deborah Curtis, will be released on 10 October (14).
Ian Curtis committed suicide on 18 May, 1980, on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour.
His widow has previously written the biography Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division.

What to Expect When You're Expecting, adapted from Heidi Murkoff's best-selling self-help book, isn't what one would expect. Looking at the trailer for the star-studded project, it's easy to assume the film is yet another A-list ensemble comedy, a style that's evolved into a maligned genre all its own. But moviegoers shouldn't necessarily associate What to Expect with films like He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve, all poorly reviewed projects that felt like money-making vehicles for boatloads of familiar faces. Instead, What to Expect separates itself from the lazy A-list genre movie, thanks to a sharp, relatable screenplay penned by Heather Hach (Freaky Friday) and Shauna Cross (Whip It), who aimed for a difficult balance of comedy and drama. Turns out, you can hit the bullseye just by telling the simple truth.
Hach admits that Hollywood comedies rarely achieve honesty — a fact that compelled her to dig deep while writing What to Expect. "That's why I think movies don't work. They don't resonate," Hach tells Hollywood.com. Although the romance-driven plots of similarly designed movies took place in the real world, they bordered on fantasy. What to Expect deals with the real, and required a different approach. "We knew the challenge here was making really relatable characters that felt grounded. And I think we succeeded."
The screenwriter certainly had source material. Hach initially pitched the book in the seventh month of her actual pregnancy and thought the idea of adapting the non-fiction classic was "genius." Hach says, "There's really no more human story that's filled with drama and comedy than having a baby."
Despite the success of self-help adaptation He's Just Not That Into You, Hach says there was never a push for her to emulate the style of the 2009 film and its many successors. "We all decided, the producers and Heidi Murkoff, the author … we wanted a Love Actually feeling with a lot of different characters." Hach says. "I think not having too many characters, five couples, you have time to feel the connection. Love Actually has a lot of truth in it. [Director] Richard Curtis is so good at that." The streamlining helps — instead of feeling like a cameo-filled romp, What to Expect has a honed-in focus that helps the film's flow.
During the screenwriting process, What to Expect was eventually handed off to Cross ("like a baton in a relay") who brought her own experiences to the table. "When I was pregnant I was looking at any movie with a subplot about pregnancy because I wanted something to relate to," Cross says. "Once I started working on [the movie], I was excited because there are so many people who have kids right now. It's nice to have, every 10 or 15 years or so, something related to pregnancy."
Cross admits that the world she was entering with What to Expect was dangerous territory with its own set of handicaps, citing the negative critical reaction to movies cast in similar a vein. But the style made sense to her: "You're aware of an audience when writing this movie," she says. "I like a good milestone movie that sums up an experience we're all going to go through. And the reason I like doing the ensemble thing is because the minute you have a kid, the minute you talk to friends, you realize everyone's experience is different. It's a universal thing of becoming a parent, but everyone's experience is different."
Both writers knew that for What to Expect to work as an honest movie that appealed to broad audiences, it couldn't simply be targeted at women. "When you're pregnant or when your partner's pregnant, you're both in it together," Hach says. "We knew we didn't want a chick flick that guys would roll their eyes at. We wanted to include that vantage point." Cross echoes the sentiment: "There was sort of a group of mahjong-playing grandmothers that were commenting on the film. And I was like, 'Can we have some dudes in the movie? Because men help create the babies and they're pretty involved.' So that was super fun for me. It was a big project for me, getting the guys in there. You can't make a baby without a guy."
Amazingly, the movie does succeed in mining universal (and hysterical) comedy from a subject matter that, on the surface, may appeal strictly to women. That's thanks to the connection between the written material and the solid cast — an ensemble Cross reveals wasn't necessarily the desirable one for some. "[Producer] David [Thwaites], [Director] Kirk [Jones] and everyone involved fought really really hard for the right people in the right parts," she says. "There was an easy version that could have happened, but it was definitely fought against." Mostly so the screenwriters could trade in star-driven stunt casting for lesser-known but beloved comedians like Thomas Lennon and Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids), actors who are known to help make films actually, you know, funny.
Cross continued to work closely with the script once the cast came on board, swapping pregnancy stories with the actors and tailoring the screenplay for each individual — not a common practice on most ensemble comedies. "Chris Rock is definitely a dad," Cross says. "He feels pretty strong about being a dad. He was almost an embarrassment of riches in how much he knew. Chris brings a lot of his own point of view. He and I both agreed that it was important that it wasn't like, 'This is horrible… ' It had to be how real parents talk. 'Today f**king sucks, but overall being a parent is kind of great.'" The screenwriter was also able to tweak Jennifer Lopez's role once she came on board. "There's something inherently relatable about her, how she can come across as a bit of an underdog. I like the irony that she's so beautiful — she's not someone you'd look at and think, 'This woman has a hard time making a kid.' So it's writing more to that." When it came to Elizabeth Banks and Wilson, Cross couldn't pen enough dialogue. "There's a great straight man thing that Rebel bounces off of Elizabeth and you keep feeding that machine."
Of course, there were interesting pregnancy stories Hach and Cross weren't able to squeeze into the movie. Hach's first draft of the screenplay included a homosexual couple looking to adopt that was later dropped in subsequent versions. When it was put in Cross' hands, the idea came back up, but was shuffled out for creative reasons: "By the time it got to me, it was the moment Modern Family was getting so huge and it felt like we were going to copy … like don't do what they're doing so well. They are so nailing it, let's not copycat it." Cross mentions there have already been talks of sequel ideas and that "[they] would definitely bring in a gay couple."
The hot-button issue of young pregnancy also surfaces in What to Expect, after Anna Kendrick's character Rosie finds herself impregnated after a casual encounter. The storyline takes its own turn for the dramatic (we won't spoil anything for you here), but don't expect What to Expect to tackle abortion — even though the screenwriters have a commitment to truth. "You kind of know who your audience is," Cross says. "Does an audience who's in the middle of experiencing pregnancy want to see a movie with abortion in it? It's tricky."
So tricky that audiences rarely see abortion on screens big or small, despite the fact that many — 22 percent of women who get pregnant, in fact — would relate. (Cross does see a recent episode of Girls as a missed opportunity: "They are on HBO, they'd have the support."). Cross also doesn't want to downplay the situation either: "As someone who has been accidentally pregnant, who didn't really plan on my pregnancy, I think there's a physical, biological thing that takes over, too," Cross says. "Kinda, 'Can I do this? Should I do this?' ... People definitely have abortions, but I don't know if this is the abortion movie. I'm so not judgmental and so pro-women getting to plan their families however they want and I'm offended by weird laws. I don't want to come across as blase seeming like every family should have a baby. It's almost like some people think that anyone who feels positive about having a kid is like some giant propaganda telling the world to have a baby. I don't feel like everyone should breed, but I do think this movie is about an experience 90 percent of those people will go through at some point."
It's these considerations and commitment to reality that make What to Expect a standout. The movie pulls back the curtain on a momentous occasion by revealing all the crazed, disturbing, wonderful events that are in store for those who find themselves prepping for a new baby. Those looking for a big genre twist may be jaded before they even get to the theater. "For some people it might be awful and cliched that they get babies at the end and the babies don't kill the parents because that would be a surprise ending," Cross jokes. "But I don't know if that's the movie I want to see when I'm pregnant. Zombie babies… different movie."
Cross may enter that territory with her next project, an adaptation of the black comedy parenting book Go the F**k to Sleep, but Hach sums up the intentions and revelations of What to Expect perfectly: "There are a lot of expectations that people have about [pregnancy]. 'Isn't it so wonderful, isn't it so glorious.' You don't know what to expect."
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
More:
Anna Kendrick on 'What to Expect,' the On-Set Midwife, and Breast Tenderness — EXCLUSIVE
Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon Play the Cool Dads in 'What to Expect' — EXCLUSIVE PIC
'What To Expect When You're Expecting' Releases Five New Character Posters

This Friday, Brandon Routh returns to the big screen in his first leading role since Superman Returns in Dylan Dog: Dead of Night. The film, based on an Italian comic created by Tiziano Sclavi, follows the title character, a paranormal investigator, as he rids the world of the terrifying creatures of the night. Of course, he's not Hollywood's first comic-book hero to take on the undead; Wesley Snipes' Blade vanquished plenty of vampires in his trilogy while Ron Perlman's Hellboy held the forces of darkness at bay for a pair of pictures. So in honor of Dylan Dog's arrival on domestic shores, I thought it'd be fun to pick a couple of other characters ready to protect the planet from the things that go bump in the night on the silver screen.
Occult Crimes Taskforce
The beautiful Rosario Dawson co-created this series and the actress lends her likeness to protagonist Sophia Ortiz, a officer in the titular division of the NYPD. The unit patrols a district of New York at the epicenter of an extant that connects Earth with another dimension. This area, called The Otherground by those aware of its existence, is primarily populated by practitioners of magic. The taskforce protects New Yorkers from Rogue Ceteri (creatures from the dimensions beyond) and those who utilize magic for personal gain at the expense of others. I think that, since there's a lack of female superheroes at the multiplex, the industry could use a horror heroine like Ms. Ortiz; one who's resourceful and sexy in equal measure. Plus, the first storyline dealt with Ortiz hunting a (supernatural) serial killer, which is a celluloid profession that many leading ladies have taken on in the past.
Nocturnals
When Doc Horror and his daughter Eve escaped their Black Planet, they didn't plan on facing the same parasitic villains that conquered their home on Earth. After making nice with Pacific City's ruthless mob kingpin Don Lupo and taking out all of his competition, things seemed to be nice and easy for the displaced duo. They frequently do battle with the city's criminal element and also protect it from larger supernatural threats with the help of a few like-minded societal outcasts including Polychrome, Starfish, Firelion, Komodo, Raccoon and Gunwitch. However, when the Crim (said parasitic organisms) find their way to our world and try to take out Doc Horror and Eve, a much larger and deadlier conflict ensues. Like the OCT and Dylan Dog, Nocturnals opens up a broad, never-before-seen world of paranormal activity to the public. The mini-series has great pulp sensibilities, a wonderful rouge's gallery and nuanced core characters, making it perfect for a motion picture.
Darkchylde
In this beautifully terrifying tale, Ariel Chylde suffers from her own nightmares, quite literally. Actually, she becomes the creatures from her nightmares and then must stop the evil forces she's released into the real world. Now, I'm kind of cheating here, because there are already (very loose) plans to adapt Darkchylde for a feature film. John Carpenter will direct and that prospect has me all giddy. Just think, he's the guy who had a young and innocent Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) battle the monstrous Michael Myers in the original Halloween and its (first) sequel. Now imagine the intensity and terror of that struggle applied to a series of fights between supernatural creatures and the one blond babe who can stop them. With Jennifer Lawrence or Amber Heard. Nuff said.
Girls
As you can tell, I kinda like women in horror (who doesn't?) The Luna Brothers created this creepy comic book about a small town with a microscopic population that has a unique "problem": unidentified naked females keep roaming through the streets. Heartbreaking, I know. But it actually does get worse. The mysterious ladies seem to have an attraction to the locals of Pennystown and mate with them regularly. Just shoot me now. Anyway, we eventually find out that these girls are hatching eggs that turn out to be clones of themselves soon after intercourse and are attacking the normal women, eating lots of flesh along the way. Also, there's a huge sperm-like monster out in the cornfields and a giant dome blocking off all aid from the outside world. Now I see. With shades of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Under The Dome, Species and V, I can't think of any reason why Girls wouldn't work as a hard R-rated horror thriller with loads of sex and sci-fi appeal.

As Love Actually begins we are told that perhaps the world isn't such a dire and hateful place that "love actually is all around." Around London anyway. The film explores no less than seven different romantic scenarios within the bustling British capital--all of which interconnect and eventually resolve on Christmas Eve. There's the newly elected dashing Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who is smitten with his secretary the earthy Natalie (Martine McCutcheon); Karen (Emma Thompson) whose husband Harry (Alan Rickman) has strayed with his seductive secretary Mia (Heike Makatsch); Sarah (Laura Linney) the American wallflower who has a crush on her colleague Carl (Rodrigo Santoro); Jamie (Colin Firth) who falls for his pretty Portuguese housekeeper Aurelia (Lucia Moniz)…there are lots more but you get the gist. As love goes things may not get tied up neatly in brightly colored packages for everyone but there's still enough good cheer to spread around.
Showcasing some of Britain's finest actors Love Actually doesn't have a bad banana in the bunch. Floppy-haired Hugh Grant turns in an endearing performance and proves there isn't a romantic comedy he can't handle. He has an uncanny knack for connecting with any actress he happens to be romancing; in this case it's the adorable McCutcheon best known for the hit British TV drama EastEnders. Rickman and Thompson are quite good as the couple whose long-term marriage is beginning to crack; Thompson especially does a nice job trying to hide her pain while being a happy mom. Linney too shines as Sarah who glows with excitement when she finally gets what she so ardently wished for. Veteran stage and film actor Bill Nighy (Underworld) however steals the show as a carefree aging rock star desperate for a comeback. His Billy Mack smacks of Mick Jagger Keith Richards and Rod Stewart all rolled into one.
"I'm worried that we don't have the word 'massacre' in the title " writer/director Richard Curtis fretted to Entertainment Weekly referring to how horror-loving American audiences might not take to his new romantic comedy that is already a huge hit in Britain. True perhaps a romantic comedy starring a multitude of A-list British actors might not bring in the required masses. But who cares about the money (did I just say that)? Curtis who has written some of the best romantic comedies of the last decade including Four Weddings and a Funeral Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary steps behind the camera for the first time here and is able to give each story a unique point of view from the lovesick to the wacky. There actually may be too many stories in Love Actually but it's a small gaffe. Love Actually is a refreshing good old fashioned warm and gushy movie that takes your mind off the bad things for the holiday season and Curtis should feel confident about his directing debut.

The Matrix Revolutions expectedly took the box office this weekend--but it didn't have the juggernaut effect studio execs were hoping for.
While the third and final installment of the Matrix trilogy scored $24.3 million on its first day of release (Wednesday), it only managed $50.1 million* over the weekend, bringing the grand total to $85.4 million. This figure is way below the $100 million predicted by insiders,Variety reports, and illustrates how the Matrix excitement seems to have died down, especially since Revolutions' much-hyped predecessor The Matrix Reloaded opened in May with a hefty $91.7 million weekend total and went on to gross $737.9 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2003.
"I don't know what film could do $90 million and then repeat that with its next sequel just six months later," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press.
Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., told AP Revolutions may hold up better in subsequent weeks than Matrix Reloaded, whose grosses fell off considerably in its second weekend. Films tend to have longer shelf life over the holidays than they do in summer blockbuster season, he said.
"The story really isn't over yet," Fellman said. "We might not have had the same impact in the opening weekend, but you need to play this out for the next few weeks and see if we play a little catchup."
Around the globe, however, The Matrix Revolutions broke records, as its five-day grosses totaled $204 million, making it the biggest consecutive five-day opening in motion picture history, Business Wire.com reports. In an unprecedented move, Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures opened Revolutions at the same moment in time in 90 different countries on Nov. 5, as well as releasing on 60 IMAX theaters worldwide.
Although Revolutions was the weekend's clear winner, the Christmas spirit permeated the box office as well. Will Ferrell 's Christmas comedy Elf opened in second with a cheery $32.1 million, while the British holiday romantic comedy Love Actually, which debuted in limited theaters, came in at No. 6 with $6.6 million.
Some returning favorites included the animated Disney tale Brother Bear, now in its second week, which took third at $18.6 million, pushing the reigning champ of the past two weeks, Scary Movie 3, down to No. 4 with $11.1 million. The tearjerker Radio rounded out the top five with $7.4 million.
THE TOP TEN
Warner Bros. R-rated The Matrix Revolutions topped the box office charts with an ESTIMATED $50.1 million in 3,502 theaters. Its $14,322 per theater average was the highest of any film playing wide this week. Opening Wednesday, its cume is approximately $85.4 million.
In the third installment of the Matrix trilogy, the epic war between man and machine comes to a thundering crescendo as Neo, Trinty and Morpheus do battle against their enemies, including the ultimate evil Agent Smith.
Directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, it stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving and Jada Pinkett Smith.
New Line Cinema's delightful PG-rated Elf spread Christmas cheer at No. 2 with an ESTIMATED $32.1 million in 3,337 theaters ($9,619 per theater).
Buddy is a 6 ft. misfit who has been raised by Santa's elves in the North Pole. Obviously different from his elf family, he ultimately finds out about his true heritage and heads to New York City to seek out his roots.
Directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen.
Buena Vista's G-rated animated film Brother Bear took third place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $18.6 million (-4%) in 3,030 theaters (unchanged; $6,139 per theater). Its cume is approximately $44.1 million.
Directed by Aaron Blaise and Bob Walker, it features the voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, D.B. Sweeney and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Dimension Films' PG-13-rated spoof Scary Movie 3 got knocked from first to fourth place in its third week with an ESTIMATED $11.1 million (-45%) in 3,288 theaters (-217; $3,377 per theater). Its cume is approximately $93.3 million.
Directed by David Zucker, it stars Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Simon Rex, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, George Carlin and Leslie Nielsen.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated drama Radio dropped one notch to fifth place in its third week with an ESTIMATED $7.4 million (-23%) in 2,811 theaters (-263, $2,633 per theater). Its cume is approximately $36.3 million.
Directed by Michael Tollin, it stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Ed Harris.
Universal Pictures' R-rated romantic opus Love Actually opened in the sixth spot with an ESTIMATED $6.6 million in 576 theaters, managing a worthy $11,458 per theater average.
The film interweaves a collage of stories pertaining to that most cherished of emotions--true love--that culminates on Christmas Eve.
Directed and written by Richard Curtis, it stars Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and Bill Nighy.
Warner Bros.' R-rated drama Mystic River drops a spot to No. 7 in its fifth week with an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-23%) in 1,581 theaters (+30 theaters; $3,052 per theater). Its cume is approximately $40.4 million.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, it stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden.
New Line Cinema's R-rated horror remake The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fell considerably from third place to eighth in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-56%) in 2,378 theaters (-592 theaters; $2,019 per theater). Its cume is approximately $73.2 million.
Directed by Marcus Nispel, it stars Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, Mike Vogel, Erica Leerhsen and Andrew Bryniarski.
Tying this week with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Twentieth Century Fox's PG-13-rated courtroom thriller Runaway Jury slipped four spots to take ninth in its fourth week with also an ESTIMATED $4.8 million (-26%) in 2,133 theaters (-603; $2,250 per theater). Its cume is approximately $40.1 million.
Directed by Gary Fleder, it stars John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz.
Paramount Pictures' PG-13-rated comedy School of Rock dropped two positions to tenth place in its ninth week with an ESTIMATED $3.1 million (-30%) in 1,982 theaters (-804 theaters; $1,589 per theater). Its cume is approximately $73.5 million.
Directed by Richard Linklater, it stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack and Michael White.
WEEKEND COMPARISON
The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an ESTIMATED $146.8 million, up a whopping 62.84 percent from last weekend's $90.2 million. The Top 12 movies were also up 13.16 percent from this time last year when they took in $129.8 million.
Last year, Universal's R-rated 8 Mile opened in first place with $51.2 million in 2,470 theaters ($20,745 per theater); Buena Vista's G-rated The Santa Clause 2 dropped from the first to second position in its second week with $24.7 million in 3,352 theaters ($7,379 per theater); and DreamWorks' R-rated thriller The Ring slipped a notch in its fourth week with $15.5 million in 2,927 theaters (+119; $5,298 per theater).